Sunday, March 27, 2016

Tbilisi Grand Prix 2016 - Georgia DAY THREE

Dutch delight as they oust hosts for top spot

The Tbilisi Grand Prix 2016 featured the
heavyweights on the third and final day of competition in Georgia as the
ippons flowed one last time at the New Sports Palace on Sunday.

Georgia’s final day of IJF World Judo Tour action saw
129 judoka (43 women, 86 men) fight across the women’s -78kg and +78kg
categories and the men’s -90kg, -100kg and +100kg categories.

The Netherlands finished top of medal table with a
brilliant third day performance as they won -78kg and -90kg gold in
addition to -78kg silver and +100kg silver. The Dutch team led the way
at the Tbilisi Grand Prix 2016 with three gold medals and two silver
ahead of Georgia who won two gold and one silver while Brazil finished
third with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.

Georgia’s hopes on the final day were pinned on stars
such as World Judo Masters -90kg winner Beka GVINIASHVILI (GEO) who was
the lightest and youngest judoka in the -100kg category having moved up
to the heavier division in December.

GVINIASHVILI, 20, won his first international medals at
-100kg at Pan American Open’s in Lima and Buenos Aires earlier this
month, as he has needed to travel far and wide beyond IJF events having
started with zero qualification points when he switched categories in
December. GVINIASHVILI weighed 94kg at the weigh-in on Saturday night
but what the youngster lacks in weight, he more than makes up for in
with heart as he came away with a highly-deserved and highly-popular
bronze medal.

Visually impaired (VI) judoka Zviad GOGOTCHURI (GEO)
was also a contender for the hosts as he fought fully sighted judoka on
Sunday. GOGOTCHURI, who has already qualified for the Paralympic Games,
won the Tbilisi Grand Prix in its first year in 2014 and since then has
made the switch to VI judo due to his vastly deteriorating vision. The
IBSA World Games winner has still made a handful of appearances on the
IJF World Judo Tour as visually impaired judoka are all eligible to
compete on the tour providing they are members of their national team
and earn selection.

The 29-year-old, who is still ranked 71st on
the IJF World Ranking List in the -90kg category, used the event as a
key part of his Paralympic bid and gave a superb account of himself in
front of his home crowd. The Georgian defeated Ibrahim KHALAF (JOR) by
hansoku-make before registering a stunning upset win over Brazilian
legend and former world champion as well as double Olympic medallist
Tiago CAMILO in golden score. GOGOTCHURI came undone against
Tbilisi-born Nikoloz SHERAZADISHVILI (ESP) in the third round by ippon
who then went on to win bronze. Junior ace SHERAZADISHVILI showed his
maturity and immense respect for GOGOTCHURI with an honest and touching
embrace.

The participation of VI judoka on the IJF World Judo
Tour continues to reflect the sport’s motto of ‘Judo For All’ and the
universality of the Olympic and Paralympic sport. The IJF has a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IBSA (International Blind Sports
Federation) to jointly co-ordinate and continue to work on the
development of judo worldwide.

The final day in Tbilisi was due to feature Greek
all-time great Ilias ILIADIS (GRE) but the legendary fighter was ruled
out of the -90kg category due to injury which was also the case for
World Judo Masters -100kg winner Elmar GASIMOV (AZE) who was due to be
the top seed.

The IJF World Judo Tour 2016 moves straight onto Turkey
for the Samsun Grand Prix next week as 465 judoka will compete from 73
nations from Friday 1 – Sunday 3 April. The three-day competition is the
final IJF event before April’s continental championships which will see
the best of Europe, Oceania, Asia, Pan America and Africa fight for
continental honours.

Tbilisi Grand Prix -66kg bronze medallist Sinan SANDAL
(TUR) equalled the best result of his career in Georgia which came as a
timely lift going into his country’s leg of the IJF World Judo Tour next
week.

“The bronze medal was good motivation for me before the
Olympic Games and I understand what I need to work on now,” said
SANDAL, who the Samsun Grand Prix has special significance for.

“Samsun is my city. I was born there and grew up there.
The atmosphere and energy will be higher than normal for me and I hope
my result will be even better than bronze. I believe the Samsun Grand
Prix will play a big part in helping me on my way to the Olympic Games.”

WOMEN

-78kg: VERKERK wins all-Dutch clash with Rio 2016 ramifications

Former world champion Marhinde VERKERK (NED) took a
giant step towards sealing a place at one more Olympic Games as she
defeated Dusseldorf Grand Prix bronze medallist Guusje STEENHUIS (NED)
in a battle of the Netherlands’ best -78kg judoka. With the stakes so
high and the rewards so great, a nail-biting contest ensued which saw
the more experienced VERKERK emerge triumphant on shido penalties.
STEENHUIS was penalised twice for passivity while VERKERK was only
penalised once and that was for the same indiscretion as the contest
finished scoreless but nevertheless with victory for VERKERK.

In the first semi-final STEENHUIS (NED) defeated Paris
Grand Slam bronze medallist Natalie POWELL (GBR) in golden score.
STEENHUIS was penalised for an overly defensive posture while POWELL was
reprimanded for being passive. POWELL lacked any fluidity and struggled
to stand upright before the golden score period started and STEENHUIS
was clearly the fresher of the two which saw her take the contest by a
yuko score. In the second semi-final London 2012 Olympic bronze
medallist Mayra AGUIAR (BRA) was upset by VERKERK who forced the
Brazilian favourite to tap out with kansetsu-waza.

The first bronze medal was won by AGUIAR who profited
from the inaction of 36-year-old veteran Yahima RAMIREZ (POR). Brazilian
AGUIAR came here for gold but bounced back from a disappointing
semi-final defeat as RAMIREZ, who received 12 shidos during five fights,
looked lacklustre and received four shidos and hansoku-make. AGUIAR is
using such an events as a barometer to judge where she is physically and
at least has areas to work on before the final Rio 2016 qualification
events and her home Games.

The second bronze medal contest was won by Grand Prix
specialist POWELL who shaded world number 12 Madeleine MALONGA (FRA).
The Welsh judoka was penalised twice for passivity in the early stages
of the contest but increased her activity while MALONGA began to toil.
POWELL rolled an ouchi-gari attack from the Frenchwoman who went over
for a yuko for the 14th Grand Prix medal of her career which moves her
ahead of Kayla HARRISON (USA) as the third most prolific medallist
behind Germany’s Franziska KONITZ (15) and Luise MALZAHN (16).

+78kg: Second Grand Prix success for SAYIT

Double world silver medallist Maria Suelen ALTHEMAN
(BRA) was unable to take part in the +78kg final due to injury as
Tashkent Grand Prix bronze medallist Kayra SAYIT (TUR) finished on top
of the podium. World number 26 SAYIT won her second Grand Prix gold
wearing the Turkish badge after finishing first at the Budapest Grand
Prix last summer.

In the first semi-final ALTHEMAN took Paris Grand Slam
silver medallist MA Sisi (CHN) off balance and down for a waza-ari score
which was enough for a spot in the final while in the second semi-final
SAYIT (TUR) beat Havana Grand Prix bronze medallist Svitlana IAROMKA
(UKR) by ippon.

The first bronze medal was won by Casablanca African
Open winner Maryna SLUTSKAYA (BLR) as she overpowered the passive
IAROMKA on the ground by trapping her for 20 seconds in osaekomi with a
kami-shiho-gatame hold. The winner earned her first Grand Prix medal
since 2013 when she took the same silver at the Almaty Grand Prix.The
second bronze medal was won by MA – her seventh at this level – in an
uneventful contest against Tokyo Grand Slam bronze medallist Emilie
ANDEOL (FRA) as both judoka were lethargic and gave away shidos. ANDEOL
was penalised for the fourth and final time for a false attack

MEN

-90kg: Flying Dutchman VAN T END delivers gold

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam silver medallist Noel VAN T END
(NED) had the measure of the dangerous Dusseldorf Grand Prix winner
Marcus NYMAN (SWE) as he continued his country’s golden streak in
Tbilisi. VAN T END scored a yuko and a waza-ari before NYMAN offered a
purposeful attack but when he did the Dutchman was moving through the
air from a sasae-tsurikomi-ashi but avoided giving away a score. VAN T
END has a cool demeanour and kept active and alert as he maintained his
advantage to take gold.

In the first semi-final former Paris Grand Slam bronze
medallist Celio DIAS (POR) was beaten by the inspired NYMAN as he could
not escape a hold down inside 20 seconds. In the second semi-final VAN T
END emphatically defeated Nikoloz SHERAZADISHVILI (ESP) as he scored
three times without a reply. The Flying Dutchman led by a waza-ari
before adding a yuko and then finally ippon after two minutes in a sharp
display.

The first bronze medal was awarded to world number 22
DIAS who fought his way past Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix bronze medallist
Joakim DVARBY (SWE). World number 20 DVARBY had won both their previous
meetings but DIAS pulled one back in their head-to-head series as he
scored a waza-ari with an ippon-seoi-nage after one minute and moved
into the osaekomi but the Swede escaped from the kuzure-kesa-gatame
hold. With two minutes left DIAS struck again with a drop
morote-seoi-nage for his second waza-ari.

The second bronze medal went to 20-year-old Junior
world silver medallist SHERAZADISHVILI who was a strong performer all
day long and got his just rewards in front of a crowd who more than
appreciated his Georgian roots. SHERAZADISHVILI won the first Grand Prix
medal of his burgeoning career against Magomed MAGOMEDOV (RUS) and
started by taking the lead with a yuko as he collapsed a drop-seoi-nage
attempt to drive over the Russian for the smallest score. MAGOMEDOV was
twice penalised for a cross-grip as he was unwilling to attack and then
got caught for a waza-ari by the Spaniard who held down his opponent for
15 seconds and a fine bronze medal.

SHERAZADISHVILI, who was born in Tbilisi and started
judo here aged 8, said: “This is my first Grand Prix medal and it means
everything to me. I’ve done a lot of senior competitions now but this is
my first medal at this level. Fighting in Georgia for the first time
for me as a Spanish international was very special for me and I can’t
thank the crowd enough for their support. I am so happy, I will never
forget this day.”

-100kg: Perfect record for Swede PACEK in Tbilisi

Tyumen Grand Slam winner Martin PACEK (SWE) won
all four of his contests by ippon including the final against Dusseldorf
Grand Prix bronze medallist Javad MAHJOUB (IRI) to capture -100kg gold.
PACEK was able to beat MAHJOUB for the first time by ippon from an
uchi-mata with 27 seconds left on the clock.

In the first semi-final Beka GVINIASHVILI (GEO) came up
short against PACEK who had a waza-ari advantage before scoring ippon
with 11 seconds left from a makikomi effort. In the second semi-final
Dusseldorf Grand Prix bronze medallist Javad MAHJOUB (IRI) defeated
Domenico DI GUIDA (ITA) on shido penalties 1:2 in a scoreless bout.

The first bronze medal was won by GVINIASHVILI as he
produced the best result of his brief -100kg career by throwing Tashkent
Grand Prix bronze medallist Soyib KURBONOV (UZB) with a photogenic and
enormous ura-nage for ippon. GVINIASHVILI put the crowd through every
possible emotion during a gripping challenge all day long and they
jumped out of their seats when KURBONOV landed for the maximum score for
their compatriot. The second bronze medal was won by FONSECA who beat
Casablanca African Open silver medallist Domenico DI GUIDA (ITA).
FONSECA has the tools to trouble anyone in his category and has proven
that this year by placing at all three of his IJF events. The
23-year-old took control with a yuko and added a waza-ari from which DI
GUIDA could not fight back and the overmatched Italian accrued three
penalties as he struggled to get to grips with his opponent.

+100kg: Grand Prix glory belongs to SASSON for Israel

Paris Grand Slam runner-up Or SASSON (ISR) won the
spoils for Israel as he earned his maiden Grand Prix title with a
victory over Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist Roy MEYER (NED) in the
+100kg final. SASSON led their head-to-head series 3-1 going into the
contest and extended it today with a yuko before both judoka exchanged
shido penalties. SASSON and MEYER have established themselves among
Europe’s elite and will be full of confidence going into next month’s
European Championships.

In the first semi-final MEYER thwarted Tyumen Grand
Slam silver medallist Aslan KAMBIEV (RUS) as the latter was penalised
twice for passivity which settled the scoreless contest.In the second
semi-final Jeju Grand Prix bronze medallist Andrey VOLKOV (RUS) fell to
SASSON after 22 seconds by a thunderous ippon-seoi-nage which booked a
place in the final.

The first bronze medal went to Tyumen Grand Slam bronze
medallist Maciej SARNACKI (POL) as VOLKOV could not compete due to
injury. The second bronze medal went to London 2012 Olympic bronze
medallist Rafael SILVA (BRA) after an insipid display from KAMBIEV who
received four shidos after only two minutes.